Rail-joint bar



l Nov. 11, 1930. V. Q ARMSTRONG 1,781,426

IIIIIIIIII AR /6g 'f/ N6 C. frmo@ Patented Nov. 11, 1930 f @UNITED ,STATES PATENT VOFFICE: N

VCTOR C, `ARMSTRONG, GF HACKENSACK, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO THE BAIL JOINT coMPANmoF new Yoan, n. Y.,

A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK RAILJOINT BAR Application med March s,

'5 enable adjustments thereof to compensate for wear, and, in general, toincrease the life and the efficiency of rail joints effected by means thereof. j

As is understood in the art, the term head- L10 free as applied to a rail` joint bar is employed to designate a bar which takes loading engagement with the head fillet of the rail and has clearance from the underside` of the rail head. Generally s uch bars are formed j `15 for base fishing contact with the upper face of the rail iange andl forl clearance between the heel of the bar and the web of the rail, whereby the base portion of the bar is adapted for inward adjustment and consequent :zo wedging action against the upwardlyand inwardly inclined upper face of the rail flange to elevate the bar and the rail ends so that the latter may be maintained high. j The standardized conventional headfree 25 rail joint bar has continuous contact throughout its length, both at the head and at the base thereof, with the rails, so that when the bar is dra-wn into engagement with the rails the resulting joint is possessed of the requisite strength and rigidity. Moreover, in theheadfree joint no appreciable wear takes place upon the head of the joint bar nor upon the head fillet of the rail, but wear is confined mostly to the base of the bar and to the upper face of the rail flange. Even this wear is more or less localized medialiy of the bar Vfor a Vcoxnparatively short distance extend` Ving outward from the ends of the rails, where the joint sustains practically `all of the load forces imposed therein. Accordingly, continuous contact of a headfree bar throughout its length with the rails maybeneficially be modified in some instances, by making such contact limited to the central area or medial zone of the joint, for example, according to the present inventionv j In the drawings, wherein like characters j of reference denote corresponding parts in the diderent views Figure 1 is a sideV elevation, partly in sec- 10, a web 11, a base or flange 12 and a head 1930. sel-iai No. 434,225.

tion, of a rail joint illustrating the use of the i present joint bar.

`Figure 2 is a vertical cross section taken approximately on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1; j Figure 3 is a vertical cross section taken approximately on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1; and j Figure 1 is a horizontalsection taken ap proximately on the line i-ll of Fig. 2.

`Referring to the drawings in detail R, It designate the meeting end portions of a pair of rails, and A. a joint bar embodying the" novel features of the present invention and adapted for splicing the rails R, R', together.

As usual, eachrail is inclusive of a head fillet 13 located at thepointwhere the web 11 merges into the head 10. j

The `jointbar A, which is of 'headfree7 design, includesI a head la, a web 15`and a base or foot portion 16, and, being of a head.` free design, the inner upper corner 14 of the 4head ltthereof rounded for loading engagement with the headifillet 13 of the rail,

`and, the top thereof is formed for clearance throughout the length of the har from the under face of the rail head. Moreover, the base or foot `portion 16 of the bar is formed for fishing; Contact with the upper face of the rail flange and theJ heel 16a of the bar is formed for clearance from the rail. web 11 whereby the bottom portion of the bar is adapted for inward adjustment toprodu'ce awedging action between the bottom face of Vthe bar and the upper face of the rail flange for the purpose of elevating the bar and the rail ends to maintain the latter high. This modified bar. however, is not constructed in accordance with prior 'practice to have loading engagementthroughout itslength with therails R, l., but is to be constructed to have clearance at its ends, both at its `head and at itsbase, from the rails whereby the latter arc engaged by the bar `only throughout that medial portion of thelength of the bar which is load sustaining and subjected to the great-j est wear. That is to say, a medial portion of the headll of the presentjointbar, forja suitabledistance extending from the centei` towards either end thereof, has its upperv inner `corner roundedasl heretofore stated for loading engagement with the head fillet oi" the rail, lout from the ends of said medial portion to the ends of the bar said corner is Vstepped outwardly, as indicated at 17 to provide a clearance space 18 atveach end of the bar betweenthe upper inner cerner A of' the"v head thereof and the lheadillets i3, 13 of the rails, respectively. Similarly, a medial portion' of the basel of the bar, preferably corresponde 10A ing in length :to the length of the aforesaid medial portion of the head of the haighas its lower face formed for fishing Contact' with. the upper iaces of the rail flanges, but irom 'iy the ends of said medial portion'totheends of 15' stepped-upwardly, as indicated at i9,fto pjro- Y videE a clearance space 2() at each end Voi' the .bar between .the under face of the base thereoiandtlfie upperfaces of the rail iangesyreispectivelyf l the bar the said lower face of the base is tively have loading engagement with the head fillets of the rails and with the hase flangesA ot the rails, and means responsive to the bolting pressurefor causing` an automatic rotation o the bar toadapt the same to loadingforces 'and` to wear. f 1- In testimony whereoiI hereunto aiiix'my signatures,

; that portion Vof the har which is subjected to maximum wear,V takes loading enga-gement v80 l l *Y vieron c. Anf-Memoria With'the rails, the end portions of the har,

outwardly of-said 'medial-.portiong havingA Y clearance fromthe rails; 'Accor dingly',V as y Y. vweer.'0601118medally ofthe bar, it@ maar is f capable of being drawn inward by the joint 'bolts 20 to compensate'frjthe wear and in this connectioniitisfpointed out that-by sufiicientlytighteningthe outer joint bolts 20 the ends of the bar may be -iexed inward `whereby the constant and inherent tendency ot the bar to assume a normal conditionwill resultin-Y ain automatic inward wear compenv eating movement of thev medial portion ofthe har. Moreover, by reasonfof the clearance be i sideralole extent 'and the wave motion ofthe tween the end `portions A.of vthe bar andthe .railsa lthe joint is rendered iieXible toa Ycon- .teriuptedly 'through thejoint., withfconsei quent Y :fthe rail ends; n Y* y 4 y 4`Without further description itis thought uhstantial avoidanfceojf pounding oi' that thefeatures and advantages oi thefin; 1

skilledr in theart; and it will of course be unf Ventionlwill-he readily apparent yto those Y,

derstood that' changes inthe form,- propor- 'l tien and minor details'of, constructioninay l `-loe resorted to,without departing from the spirit ofthe'invention andscope of the ap pendedk claims. 'Ifclaimzea l. A rail oint including tlierai'ls, thejioint Limits mit janien-having hanane am j 'portions formed kfor loading'. engagement itieughout the medi-a1 portie-n Qf the jean.

and meansrs Afs-ivef-;'0' matching `'p reggere c5 fleasngan autmaticfretatin fen@ bar Y* only, respectiyely withthe head' iillets ,flilie j j 13ans; and with the base etages;- ofl the fana r 

